Oil spill response submarine and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

The submarine has a plurality of oil spill detection and removal means, oil/water separating device and oil store tanks. Lights and camera sets are installed in a manner allowing a visual control over the movement of the submarine and over the process of oil removal. A telescopic boom, a sail suction platform and deck suction means are provided to collect the oil spill from the surface of water and from beneath the ice. A bottom suction compartment is provided to collect the oil spill rising from the sea floor to the surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application dams priority of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/854,653 filed Apr. 29, 2013; said application isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for recoveringhydrocarbons, including oil and oily substances, as well as otherpolluting chemicals floating suspended or moving within or on thesurface of a body of water as a result of a spill and more particularlyin the presence of ice, and to such a system using a autonomous mannedsubmarine to remove spilled hydrocarbons from the body of water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With an intensified development of marine oil deposits the risks ofaccidental oil spill increase exponentially. The latest accidents in theMexican Gulf, in Brazil and in Nigeria demonstrated that existingmethods and equipment used to contain and neutralize oil spills areineffective and insufficient. Before the surface spill response boatsbegin the proper operation to collect the spilled oil, would be oftenspread and dispersed even more on a wide territory by various vessels,or when corralled it would be partially burnt polluting the air inaddition to polluting the water. The use of various dispersants was alsoproved to be non-effective and harmful for the environment and for thepeople. That becomes even more critical for the conditions of the Arcticseas when the body of water is infested with the ice and heavy stormsmay delay or impede the delivery or the use of the oil spill responsemeans and equipment. At the same time the more rapidly an oil spill canbe contained and removed from the affected area, the more effective thecleanup operation will be, and the more economic and environmentaldamages will be reduced. Thus, the time factor defining the speed of thedeployment of oil spill equipment and the performance of the oilrecovery system used in such conditions are the key elements on whichthe success and effectiveness of the cleanup operation depend.

Various systems and equipment have been developed for oil spillcontainment and removal from the surface of a body of water, however,there is no suitable apparatus for recovering or even properly detectingbig volumes of polluting chemicals from the body of water heavilyinfested with ice. It will be necessary to locate and remove thepolluting chemicals from their subsurface resting place under or withinthe ice and/or from the adjacent water in order to recover them, preventthem from migrating to other areas with the ice flow and from enteringand contaminating the water and the environment with the ice melting, orto prevent surface recontamination resulting from components of thesubmerged polluting chemicals escaping back to the surface over time asa result of wave action.

The use of a system comprising a surface vessel may also be complicatedby the presence of ice, poor visibility or storm. U.S. Pat. No.3,831,387 discloses an apparatus designed for the recovery of oil fromsunken vessels. The apparatus is lowered from a ship and is latched ontothe sunken vessel containing the oil. The apparatus pumps the oilthrough a pipe to either a storage chamber within the apparatus or to aship on the surface of the body of water. U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,811discloses a submersible manned apparatus designed for the recovery ofoil below the surface of the body of water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,290discloses a submarine oil skimmer designed to remove oil from thesurface of the body of water.

None of the above means has the ability, however, to recover oilaccumulated below or/and within the ice or to recover oil plumes rapidlyrising in heavy volumes from the bottom in case of a blowout nor theyhave a autonomous versatility for removing oil in the conditions of theArctic sea regardless of the weather conditions and of the time of theday.

EP 2532577 A1 discloses a submarine with a oil sonar detection device, aoil separating device and having a suction/discharging trunk to collectoil accumulated under the ice plate, but that does not provide means forcollecting oil pollutant from the sea surface, from the slush ice, fromwithin the ice, from the body of water regardless of the position of thesubmarine, or from the bottom. It does no provide means for collectingcarbohydrates rising from the sea floor as a result of a blow-out.Neither it provides means for a visual control of operation and relieson sonar only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is therefore addressed toward a versatile methodand apparatus for recovering both surface and subsurface pollutingchemicals, such as oil, which avoids the need for use of a surfacevessel supporting the operation of a submersible work unit, eithermanually or remotely operated, by providing a manned, fully autonomous,self-sufficient, self-propelled apparatus which can hover above, below,near or amid the oil spill and pick up the oil using a plurality ofversatile intake means, mounted within the apparatus and uniquelypositioned and operable to remove the oil in various conditions andlocations within the body of water. The operators can view the body ofwater, the intake means and the working area and can operate the intakemeans to pick up the oil within the reach simultaneously in variouslocations in various conditions of weather and visibility.

The present invention due to the unique construction overcomes a problemof restricted technical capacities of numerous existing oil spillskimmers and oil spill response means used to remove the oil andoil-based chemical pollutants from the body of water. Furthermore, thepresent invention creates a possibility of a rapid deployment of apowerful and versatile oil spill response vehicle in remote and hard toreach areas because such submarine possesses operative and functionalon-surface and submarine autonomies untypical for existing surfacevessels. Ideally at least one submarine should be on a patrol mission inthe area of oil exploration and another on a stand-by position in thenearest port suitable for the moorage.

Though it may be either nuclear or conventional type submarine, in apreferred embodiment of the invention the submarine is conventionalpowered and such as is typically used for military purposes except forweaponry and other specific combat equipment. It comprises asubstantially cylindrical pressure hull, a larger then normal sail, adeck equipped with suction means and intake means. It will navigate andapproach the operation area by using a combination of data from thenavigation and ice detection radars and a real time visual signalreceived from a plurality of lights and cameras installed in variouspoints of the submarine's hull providing a effective visual observationof the space around the submarine in various directions. Similarunderwater camera systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,761, U.S.Pat. No. 5,940,126 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,139,125. Several sets ofunderwater search lights may be installed on the sail and on the deckfor add tonal illumination.

The full size submarine provides sufficient space and operationalcapabilities for mounting in it a plurality of powerful versatilesuction and intake means allowing the removal of oil or/and otherpolluting chemicals from any depth of the water column within thesubmarine's operational depth including plumes rising from the bottom oroil and/or polluting chemicals trapped under the ice. Pumping capacityof the suction means in combination with the high pressure steam/hotwater jets will allow recovery of oil or other polluting chemicals withvarious viscosity. En particular pumps such as produced by FLOWESERVE,Inc. from Irving, Tex. or WASTECORP, Inc. from New York.

Depending on the concrete spill situation and on the ice and weatherconditions a bottom suction compartment, a deck intake means, ahydraulic boom or a sail suction platform or their combination may beused. In case of a rising of massive plumes from the sea floor thebottom suction compartment will open its doors forming a roomycollection chamber with the wide-open doors serving as oppositelypositioned side walls of a giant chamber with a plurality of suctionnozzles mounted inside at the upper part of the chamber. The nozzles maybe extendable and retractable. A plurality of cameras with lightsinstalled at various points on the doors and on the walls of the chamberwill allow a real time visual control over the situation inside thesuction compartment and in the vicinity in order to timely react to apossible change of the situation. The bottom suction compartment may bedivided into several independently operable sections with separate doorsto match the size of a concrete oil plume.

The vertical position of the submarine shall be altered with the help ofthe top and bottom thrusters in the bow and in the stern or/and byoperating the ballast system.

The deck intake means shall be normally used whenever the ice is scarceor absent and there is a possibility of using the submarine's deck as awide area suction platform with a adjustable buoyancy to remove a oilspill from the surface of the body of water. The submarine shall bepositioned across the spill at the depth allowing the oil spill to floatjust above the upper surface of the deck with the intake devices open,and the submarine shall be laterally propelled by the side thrusters inthe bow and in the stern in the direction opposite to the movement ofthe spill, at a speed commensurate with the removal of the oil spillcoming within the suction range of the deck intake means. The deckintake means may be equipped with a grid to prevent entry of variousobjects and with a debris recovery system. The control system will serveto operate a plurality of the deck intake means allowing its engagementindividually, by groups or of all units available simultaneously.

The telescopic boom will be similar to one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,142,180, U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,292 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,118, and willbe normally used when the ice is dense and a wide-angled viewing of workarea is required to ensure a proper removal of pollutants, or whenconditions of the sea surface would not allow the use of the deck or ofthe sail platform intake and suction means. There may be more than onetelescopic boom with various types of work heads installed in the deckas well as in a separate compartment in the bottom.

Inside the boom there will be hydraulic hoses, steam/hot water hoses, aconduit for transferring pollutants drawn by suction from the work headand wiring for lights and cameras mounted on the work head. Thetelescopic booms are preferred to be hydraulically operated, thoughelectric or combination operation is also optional.

The telescopic suction platform shall be used whenever there is a needand conditions for a wide area suction operation with ice present on thesurface of the body of water. The platform is preferably hydraulicallyoperated and all hydraulic, steam/hot water and oil suction conduits maybe inside its telescoping sections to prevent them from a potentialdamage by moving ice. There may be various types of ice scrapers,crushers, grinders and steam jets installed on the work heads and on thesuction platform varying in their dimensions and ice elimination method.On board of a submarine there are expected to be several types ofreplaceable work heads and of ice scrapers/crushers and drills used inaccordance with a concrete type of ice encountered during oil spillresponse operation—from slush ice to small icebergs.

The suction pumps shall be such that would allow removal of all types ofoil that may be encountered during a oil spill. Oil sucked up by thenegative pressure generated in the intake entry opening first enters adebris recovery structure where high-density particles will beseparated.

The debris recovery structure may further comprise a centrifugal systemto separate the oil/water suspension from the debris. The pump intake ispreferably located downstream of the debris recovery structure and theoutput of the pump feeds a pipe, which delivers the oil/water suspensionto a processing tank with a separator for recovery of the oil componentsand possible return of the non-oil component (water) to the body ofwater. Such separation apparatus are well disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,722,800, U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,839. After the removal of debris andwater the oil would be fed by pumps to the store tanks.

The store tanks will be built in a manner allowing a maximum use of theinner space of the body. Additional removable store tanks could beinstalled outside the submarine's original body. Whenever possible theoil from the store tanks would be transferred to an outside oil tank.Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention willbe made apparent by the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a highly simplified, partially sectional side view of aninventive submarine while submerged under the ice flow with thetelescopic boom and sail suction platform deployed;

FIG. 2 is a highly simplified top view of an inventive submarine whilesubmerged with the telescopic boom in a transport position (compartmentdoors open) and sail suction platform deployed;

FIG. 3 is a highly simplified view of an inventive submarine whilesubmerged with the bottom suction compartment doors open;

FIG. 4 is a highly simplified sectional view of the submarine aft thesail with the bottom suction compartment doors open.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiment of the invention employs a conventional poweredsubmarine, though a nuclear powered submarine may also be used for suchpurposes and would give more relative advantages like longer timesubmerged and a bigger operational depth, but the risks associated withoil spill may greatly jeopardize the situation by adding a threat of aradioactive contamination in case of an accident involving a nuclearsubmarine. Either nuclear or conventional oil spill response submarineis expected to be much less expensive due to the absence of requirementsfor low noise, expensive military equipment, armament, etc.

By using the inner space of the submarine typically occupied by thecombat elements it will be possible to install large capacity storetanks 8 for collected oil and highly powerful oil pumping and/orprocessing equipment ensuring a operational flexibility and a autonomousperformance of the ship in spill response operations.

Beside the on-board equipment the submarine may carry at least oneremotely operated vehicle for specific missions like spill site searchand reconnaissance, water column analysis, etc.

The oil spill response submarine will have all basic non-combat elementsof the military submarine necessary to ensure its proper functioning:propulsion system 7, navigation systems with respective elements,including a radar/sonar system 6, command and control room 18, crewquarters, rescue system, etc.

One of the options is to consider a possibility of converting adecommissioned nuclear submarine into a conventional powerednon-military submarine for oil spill response operations if a risk of aresidual radiation could be completely eliminated.

In addition to the main propulsion system the submarine should have atleast four pairs of oppositely installed thrusters 24, namely two in thebow and two in the stern to allow a increased body maneuveringcapability along two mutually perpendicular axis.

Due to the fact that the submarine would have to eventually conductoperation both in a surfaced and submerged position the outer hull 5 andthe pressure hull 4 need to be ice-strengthened all-around to increaseits survivability in the arctic conditions in the presence of the ice ofat least 40-60 inches thick.

The rudders and propellers should be also either strengthened orprotected from moving broken ice by either the shape of the submarine orby a protective casing or ribs.

The submarine is meant to be equipped with a GPS buoy system for markingthe area affected by the spill and for tracking the movement of thebuoys together with the water current and ice and oil spillrespectively.

The submarine is equipped with video cameras and lights assemblies 19installed in a manner allowing a constant real time visual control overthe movement of the submarine, over the space surrounding it, over thespilled area the submarine approaches and over the position andoperation of the oil spill response equipment.

The submarine deck 1 comprises a plurality of deck intake means 16mounted within the submarine and equipped with shutter means to closethe intake openings when the intake means are not in use, and with agrid to prevent a entry of various objects. The deck intake means isnormally used to remove the oil from the surface of the body of wateradjacent to the deck 1 of the submarine. Pipes connect the deck intakemeans with suction pumps 20 installed beneath the deck within thepressure hull.

Suction pumps transfer the oil and water mix to the processing tank 22comprising a oil/water separator such as the one represented in the U.S.Pat. No. 4,428,839 or those manufactured by the Water PlanetEngineering, Los Angeles, Calif. or by the Skimoil, Inc., Carrboro, N.C.After the oil is separated it is transferred to the store tanks 8 andthe cleaned water after proper purity analysis performed is pumpedoutside. In a situation when it's impossible to overhaul the collectedoil, some of the properly adopted ballast tanks may be used for storingthe oil.

The bottom suction compartment 11 is used when the oil is accumulated oris moving below the surface or is rising after a blowout. The weight andthe dimensions of the submarine would allow it to be positioned on topof the rising plumes and to contain at least a major portion of oilbefore it comes to the surface. If the oil settles on the bottom orwithin the water column close to the bottom within the submarine'soperational depth the submarine is capable of locating the oil mass, itsposition, volume, movement, then approaching and gradually removing theoil by opening doors 28 and operating the retractable nozzles of thebottom suction compartment intake means 12.

When removing the oil accumulated beneath or within the ice thesubmarine opens the sail suction compartment 15 and uses the sailsuction platform 23 by rising it to the required level to be positionedadjacent to the oil spill and operating the ice crusher 25 and steamjets 26. the water and oil mix enters the intake opening and is drawnthrough the conduits 10 to the suction pipe 20 and further to theprocessing tank 22 where the oil is separated from the water andtransferred by a transfer pump to the store tank. The telescopic suctionplatform is normally used when the area affected by the spill is ratherwide and requires and allows to conduct a suction operation using alarge device like the sail suction platform.

When the access of the submarine to the spill zone is restricted by thephysical conditions like a presence of ice keels or any other obstaclesprotruding from the above, the telescopic suction device 14 mountedwithin the deck suction compartment 13 is used.

When deploying the telescopic boom or returning it to the transportposition within the deck suction compartment 13 the suction hose andother conduits are rendered and recovered by the render-and-recover reel21. The oil and ice removing elements of the telescopic suction device14 work head 27 are similar to those of the sail suction platform 23 andoperate in the same manner and order.

The light and camera assembly installed on the suction platform and onthe work head allow a real time control over the process of the oilremoval. Due to the risk of camera lenses and lights being covered withthe oil the lenses and lights are protected with replaceable transparentcovers.

All deck intake means 16, bottom suction compartment intake means 12,sail suction platform, telescopic suction device work head comprise asteam jet system operable to prevent a formation of the ice and ofmethane hydrate crystals at the entry openings, and to reduce the oilviscosity before it enters the conduits 10 connecting them with thesuction pumps 20.

While have herein above described and illustrated in the drawings, apreferred embodiment of my invention, it will be evident to thoseskilled in the art that various changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, or the scope of the appendedclaims. As various changes could be made in the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall the matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manned, fully autonomous, self-sufficient,self-propelled apparatus, more particularly a submarine for the recoveryof oil and other polluting chemicals disposed within the body of water,on and/or beneath the surface including in the presence of ice,comprising: a body comprising a deck, a sail rising above the deck, abottom; a body comprising at least a pressure hull and a outer hull; abody comprising a radar and a sonar system to navigate and to locateobjects and oil spills under the surface of the ice-infested waters; abody having a propulsion system operative to position the body withinthe body of water, below or partially bellow the surface, adjacent to orreasonably distant from, below, above or amid the oil and/or otherpolluting chemicals; a system operative to control the position of theapparatus within the body of water; a plurality of suction means mountedwithin the body of the apparatus operative to remove the water or/andice containing oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body ofwater adjacent to and/or reasonably distant from the apparatus, aboveor/and below the apparatus; a plurality of intake means operativelymounted within the body of the apparatus to remove the stationarylocated or moving oil and/or water or/and ice containing oil and/orother polluting chemicals from the body of water adjacent to and/orreasonably distant from the apparatus, above or/and below the apparatus;a plurality of store or/and processing tanks operative to contain or/andprocess the water to remove chemical pollutants; a boiler operative toproduce high pressure heat and/or hot water and supply it to the intakemeans; a plurality of conduits operative to transfer water containingoil and/or polluting chemicals from intake means to store and/orprocessing tanks; at least one bottom suction compartment comprisingintake means operative to remove the polluting chemicals adjacent to orwithin a reasonable distant from the bottom of the apparatus; at leastone deck suction compartment operative to contain a telescopic suctiondevice mounted within the body of the apparatus; at least one sailsuction compartment comprising intake means mounted within the body ofthe apparatus and operative to remove and/or process ice or/and watercontaining polluting chemicals within a reasonable distance above theapparatus; a deck serving as the common elongated base platform for aplurality of the deck intake means operatively mounted within the deckto remove chemical pollutants from the body of water; a plurality ofballast tanks operative to serve as supplementary storage tanks forpolluting chemical or/and polluting chemicals and water mix; a systemoperative to control and adjust buoyancy and stability of the bodyduring operation; a system operative to provide control of simultaneousand/or a separate operation of all suction and intake means within onecontrol room; a system operative to offload chemical pollutantsprocessed and/or stored on board; a plurality of underwater lights andcamera assemblies mounted within the body and operative to provide realtime visual control in various directions over the body of apparatus andover the environment at a reasonable range; a plurality of underwaterlights and camera assemblies mounted within the intake means andoperative to provide real time visual control in various directions overthe working area at a reasonable range; a system operative to controlthe plurality of lights and camera assemblies.
 2. The apparatus of claim1 wherein the suction means comprises a plurality of suction pumpsforming at least one pumping station operative to draw the water or/andice containing polluting chemicals entering the intake means operativelymounted within the body of the apparatus and to move the oil and/orpolluting chemicals through the conduits within the apparatus.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the telescopic suction device mountedwithin the body of the apparatus comprises a boom platform; and atelescopic boom; and a plurality of conduits; and a render-recover reelsystem; and storage means operative to move and store conduits.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein the telescopic boom further comprises atleast three sections; and at least one work head.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 3 wherein the telescopic boom is hydraulically and/orpneumatically operated allowing the movement between a storage positionand a work position along three mutually perpendicular axes.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein the telescopic boom has the first sectionpivotally connected to the second section and serving as a support guidefor conduits inside the boom sections.
 7. The apparatus of claim 3wherein the telescopic boom has the second section pivotally connectedto the boom platform.
 8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the telescopicboom further comprises a plurality of replaceable work heads operable indifferent conditions of the ice and water and of the pollutingchemicals.
 9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the conduits inside theboom sections comprise a plurality of pipes and/or hoses for drawingwater with polluting chemicals from the work head; and pipes and/orhoses for delivering high pressure steam and/or hot water from theboiler to the work head; and conduits operative to serve the light andcamera system installed on the boom and within the work head.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein the boom platform mounted within the decksuction compartment is moveable within the compartment.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 7 having the pivotally connected work head comprisingmeans operable to crush and melt the ice and to remove water withpolluting chemicals from the work area at a reasonable distance from thedeck.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the means operable to crushand melt the ice comprises the hydraulically, pneumatically orelectrically driven crusher with steam jets.
 13. The apparatus of claim1 wherein the intake means further comprises a bottom suctioncompartment operable to remove the stationary accumulated or moving oiland other polluting chemicals from the body of water within a reasonabledistant from the bottom of the apparatus.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9wherein the bottom intake compartment comprises at least one suctionnozzle.
 15. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the bottom intakecompartment comprises watertight doors operative to serve as sidewallsof a intake opening to direct the flow of polluting chemicals.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 11 wherein the suction nozzles are operativelyconnected by the pipes to the suction pumps mounted within the body ofapparatus.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the intake means furthercomprises a sail suction compartment.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17wherein the sail suction compartment comprises a telescopic suctionplatform operative to eliminate the ice and to remove oil and/orpolluting chemicals from the body of water within a reasonable distanceabove the sail.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the upper surfaceof the sail suction compartment comprises doors operative to allowmovement of the telescopic suction platform.
 20. The apparatus of claim18 wherein the telescopic suction platform is operable to allow themovement between a storage position and a work position along threemutually perpendicular axes.
 21. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein thetelescopic suction platform comprises at least one hydraulically,pneumatically or electrically driven crusher with steam jets.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 18 wherein the telescopic suction platform contains aplurality of means serving to operate the crusher with steam jets and toremove the pollutant chemicals from the work zone.
 23. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the intake means further comprises a plurality of thedeck intake means operatively mounted within the deck operable to removethe oil and other polluting chemicals from the body of water adjacent tothe upper surface of the deck of the apparatus.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 23 wherein the plurality of the deck intake means is operativelyconnected to the suction pumps mounted within the apparatus.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 23 wherein the plurality of deck intake means furthercomprises shutter means serving to close the intake means when not inuse.
 26. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the plurality of deck intakemeans have a control system allowing their simultaneous and/orindividual operation.
 27. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the outerhull is ice strengthened.
 28. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thepropulsion system comprises at least 4 oppositely located thrusters inthe bow operative to position the apparatus vertically and/orhorizontally.
 29. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the propulsion systemcomprises at least 4 oppositely located thrusters in the stern operativeto position the apparatus vertically and/or horizontally.
 30. Theapparatus of claim 1 comprising control and communications channels foroperating light and camera system and for relaying images obtained fromsaid light and camera system to the control room within the apparatus.31. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a system to deliversteam and/or heat to the suction means, said steam and/or heat operativeto melt the ice and/or methane hydrate crystals adjacent to or locatedclose to the intake means.
 32. A method for the recovery of oil and/orother polluting chemicals stationary concentrated or moving withinand/or on top of the surface of the body of water comprising: moving theoil spill response submarine to the area of suspected or confirmed oilspill; conducting sonar scanning and visual search using cameras/lightsto find affected area; moving the submarine around the spill to identifythe area affected by it; identifying water temperature, currents andcharacteristics of the spill; marking the boundaries of the spill withGPS buoys; positioning a oil spill response submarine depending on thetype and character of the spill within, below or partially above thesurface of the body of water and above, below or amid the pollutingchemicals at a reasonable distance, permitting an effective use of theintake means, using the propulsion system for movement and using lightsand cameras as a visual means of navigation; positioning the intakemeans mounted within the apparatus adjacent to the polluting chemicalsusing lights and cameras as a visual means for target spot search andacquisition; deploying and activating proper intake means depending onthe oil and/or other chemical pollutants condition and location;scraping, crushing and/or melting the ice polluted by the oil or otherpolluting chemicals using the intake means; drawing the pollutingchemicals and/or slush ice with oil into and through the intake means bymeans of suction generated by a plurality of pumps; pumping thecollected oil and/or other polluting chemicals through a pipe to the oilseparator; storing the collected oil and/or other polluting chemicals inthe apparatus; transferring the collected oil and/or other pollutingchemicals to an outside storage or container on or below the surface ofthe body of water; performing a visual control over cleaned area andperforming other analysis whenever required to confirm in a cooperationwith the on-surface oil spill response team whenever applicable, aremoval of oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body of water;removing GPS buoys from their position; moving the submarine to anotherlocation as required.